Songfacts®:

• The title song of the Zach Braff-directed movie, Wish I Was Here, this wistful piano-driven track features American singer-songwriter Chan 'Cat Power' Marshall collaborating with British band Coldplay.
• Braff told NPR that after giving an early version of the film to Chris Martin, the Coldplay lead singer got the band together to work on the song before having the brainwave to feature a female vocal. "Chris had the idea that it would be sung by a woman," he said. "I thought that was a genius idea, because one of the things the film is about is a strong woman (Kate Hudson's character) becoming the matriarch of her family. When Chris and I were talking, we both kind of simultaneously said, 'Cat Power.'"
  
  "I reached out to Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) and she and I met and really clicked," Braff added. "I set her up to watch the film in her apartment. The whole time she was watching she kept texting me all the different parts she was loving. She said yes the instant it was over."
• "Wish I Was Here" plays in a Kia commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in 2024. In the spot, a young figure skater performs in an arena, then drives to her homebound grandfather's house and skates for him on his pond.